Longer hours for select clinics

Star: PUTRAJAYA: Operating hours for select health clinics throughout the country will be extended to provide quicker treatment for the sick.
And elective surgeries will be carried out on Saturdays to lessen the backlog of such cases. Both moves are expected to begin next year.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said the 33 health clinics picked were located around hospitals which experienced “flooding” of patients to their Accident and Emergency (A&E) Departments after 5pm.
The extended hours are from 5pm to midnight on working days and the clinics will stay open from 8am to midnight on public holidays.
The areas include those surrounding Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu, Sarawak Hospital in Kuching, Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Seberang Jaya Hospital in Penang, Kajang Hospital, Tuanku Jaafar Hospital in Seremban, Penang Hospital and Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang.
“We are doing this so we can lessen the number of patients who flood the A&E Departments at certain hospitals,” he told reporters recently.
“The problem is most patients at A&E Departments are not patients who need emergency treatment. And because of this, cases which need immediate attention do not get the full attention of the doctors,” he added.
Dr Chua said that on an average, 70% of those who visited the A&E Departments were not emergency patients, adding that one reason was because many who visited the doctors in the department preferred to do so after they finished working.
Doctors will be paid an overtime allowance of RM30 per hour.
Dr Chua said the ministry was looking to increase this to RM40.
He added that private sector doctors were also welcome to apply to work for these clinics during the extended hours.
Dr Chua also said elective surgeries would be performed on Saturdays at 19 hospitals involving 41 operating theatres beginning next year.
“The main reason is to lessen the number of backlog cases and waiting time for operations at hospitals.
“If we are not careful, the elective ones will have to wait up to six months, which we think is unfair. It is too long and should be about three months,” he said.
The operation cost for this would be about RM7mil annually, he added.